Members Only

Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started

Learn how to update your Circle profile!

Logging In

Q: How do I log in?Click the blue "Sign In" button in the upper right-hand corner of your screen.

Q: What is my log in information?Log in to The Circle using your email address and Sigma password. Your password is either your seven-digit member identification number, or the password you created when you received your invitation to join Sigma. If your member identification number is not seven digits, please add zeros to the front of it. If you have forgotten your information, please use the “Forgot Password” link on the member login screen.

My Profile

Q: How do I control what information is shown in My Profile?Under “My Profile”, click the “Preferences” link in the left navigation, which lets you control what information is visible to whom. Information can be shown to only your contacts, to members of The Circle, or no one. If you are a chapter leader, your information can also be public, in order for prospective members to contact you. After you’ve made changes, click the “Save” button at the bottom of the page.

Q: My picture won’t upload. What’s wrong?The dimensions of the image must be no larger than 600 pixels wide by 600 pixels high. The file size (kilobytes, megabytes, etc.) does not matter. You can check the dimensions in programs like Photoshop, Microsoft Paint and Microsoft Photo Editor. The image must also be saved in a .jpg, .gif or .bmp format.

Q: Do I have to enter start and end dates for my education?No, just leave the date drop-down boxes set to the blank option.

Q. If I want to add a link* in my Profile to another website, such as a personal blog that I maintain outside The Circle or to another website, how do I do that? On your Profile page, open the Bio section. Where you wish to add a link, insert the following code, substituting MYLINK.COM with your web address. <a href="http://www.MYLINK.COM">My Link</a>

Discussion Forums

In order to be a part of group communications, you must join/subscribe to the group!

Q: How do I join/subscribe to a group?Under “Discussions”, click the “My Subscriptions” link in the top navigation. Here, you will see a list of available communities. Select one of the delivery options (Real Time, Digest, PDA or No Email) for any groups you wish to join and then click the “Save” button at the bottom of the page.

Select a delivery option:

Real time: sends an e-mail every time a new message is postedDaily digest: sends one e-mail to you each morning, consolidating all posts from the previous dayPDA: sends real-time texts to your mobile device. You may reply without logging in to a web browser, but this option does NOT allow attachments to your post.No E-mail: No e-mails will be sent but you may still participate via the discussion board.

Q: How do I leave a group?Click on the “My Subscriptions” link in the top navigation. From the list, select “Not Subscribed” to the right of the group you wish to leave and click the “Save” button at the bottom of the page. You will get a red message confirming that your subscription options have been successfully updated. This can take several seconds if you change your settings for several groups at the same time.

Q: How do I respond to others’ posts?From a received e-mail or the online discussion board, you can click either the “Reply to eGroup” link to send your message to the entire forum, or the “Reply to Sender” link to send your message only to the sender; both links are located just to the left of the posting. We recommend replying only to the sender for comments like “me, too” that add little value to the discussion.

Q: How do I start a new discussion thread?In an e-mail (HTML version) from a particular discussion forum, you can use the “Post Message” link in the right navigation bar. You can also use the “Post Message” link, accessible from the Discussions link in the top navigation. We recommend bookmarking or adding this link to your favorites list in your web browser to make it easily accessible.

Q: I am conducting a research study and would like to ask Sigma members to participate. Is this allowed? If you are interested in posting links to surveys for research studies, please do so in the "Global Member Forum" on the Circle. (Click on "Discussions" then "Global Member Forum.")

The full scope or proposal of the project should not be included in the posting.

Directory

Q: How do I find other members of Sigma?Click the “Directory” link found in the main navigation bar at the top of the site, and then “Find a Member" in the drop down menu. The Directory's Advanced Search lets you search for other members based on a variety of parameters.

Name

Company/Institution

Location

Group membership

Education (include university, degree, area of study and dates attended)

Contact List

Q: How do I add contacts to my contact list?There are several ways to add contacts to your list. When you perform a search in the Directory, you will see an “Add as contact” link next to each person in your search results. Just click this link to send a contact request. If you click through and view someone’s profile, you can click the contact request link just to the right of their profile picture. You can also add contacts by selecting from the My Networks link, accessible from the My Profile link in the top navigation, or by viewing any of the members of the groups to which you belong, by selecting My Groups from the My Profile link.

Q: Why should I add contacts to my contact list?Creating this virtual address book makes it easy to send your contacts messages through the system to stay in touch or ask questions. Additionally, when you view another member’s profile, you’ll be able to see any contacts you have in common with them.

Q: What are "Networks"?Networks are networking groups that are automatically created based on demographic information in your profile. They help you locate other members who live in your city or state, share your interests, have the same job title and more.

Libraries

Q: How do I access my group’s resource library?Click “My Groups,” accessible from your profile, and find the group you’d like to access, and click its “View Library” link.

Q: Can I search for specific file types?Yes. When in the resource library area, select “Advanced Search” from the left navigation. This search will let you specify file type: PowerPoint, Excel, image, video, etc.

Q: On what other properties can I search?The advanced search option allows you to find documents based on keywords within a document title or description or even within its content. You can also specify which libraries you’d like to search, by which author, date posted, tags and more.

Q: How do the libraries get populated?You may upload documents directly by using the “Add Document” link found in the left navigation. Or if you you include an attachment in a forum post, the system automatically places it in the library and sends a link to it to all subscribers.

Q: How do I upload a document?In the resource libraries area, click the “Add Document” link in the left navigation. First, choose a title for your document, include a description (if you’d like) and select the library where the document will be placed; hit "Save." “Step 2” allows you to browse for and upload your file.

Q: What kind of documents can I upload?The system supports several file types, including: PDFs, PowerPoint, Excel, Word, images and even video. You are, however, prohibited from uploading copyright-protected documents that you do not have the rights to post.

Q: I have several related documents. Do I have to post them individually?No. You can post related documents together, and we encourage you to do so. Follow steps 1 & 2 to upload your first file. Then, rather than saving, perform step 2 again to upload another file. Continue that process until all of your related files are uploaded, then add your tags and hit “Save.”

Q: Can someone else edit or delete my file?As the owner of the document, only you or a system administrator can delete your document. If you’d like to delete it, just click the red “X” that appears when you view the document details.

Q: Can I download documents?Absolutely. That’s why they are being shared. However, please note all of these documents have been submitted by your peers and have not been reviewed by us. You must evaluate and bear all risks associated with the use of any content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of such content.

Other questions?

Please email us if you are having trouble regarding training, site design, content, user profile or other issues. Please allow one business day response time.